Beaten on their floor by the Denver Nuggets, the Warriors, defending champions, conceded their first defeat of the season (123-128) while the Celtics confirmed their domination in the East at the Heat (104-111). Betrayed by a porous defense and a failing three-point address for too long (34.9% against 44.1%), before the vain awakening of Stephen Curry (34 points), Golden State conceded its first defeat of the season (123- 128), against Denver, which was able to count on its double MVP in title, Nikola Jokic.
The Serb split a triple-double (26 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists), his last offering having been crucial to restore air to his team, which had just let the Warriors return to a point in the last seconds, after counting twenty of them behind.
In Portland, Damian Lillard showed that he was on the right track to return to his best level, after an abdominal tear which caused him to miss half of last season. “Lady Time” scored 41 points in the Blazers’ overtime victory over the Suns (113-111).
« Jay-Jay » décisifs
The Celtics’ offensive tandem once again wreaked havoc: Jayson Tatum, 29 points, and Jaylen Brown, 28, largely contributed to Boston’s second straight success (111-104) on the Heat floor, where they eliminated Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals in the spring. “I like playing against the Heat, we’ve created a rivalry over the last few years. This team makes you better, it has a lot of aggressiveness, great players, a great coach, ”commented the first.
On the Florida side, Tyler Herro was the most prolific (25 points), Bam Adebayo (19 points) and Jimmy Butler (18 points) not being outdone. “We didn’t manage to finish the job, but we have to stay the course. There was a marked improvement between the first match and this one,” commented coach Erik Spoelstra.
In Brooklyn, after an inaugural loss against the Pelicans, the Nets relied on Kyrie Irving (30 points) and Kevin Durant, (27 points) author of a shot behind the decisive arc 56 seconds from the end, to open their victory counter (109-105) against the Raptors, despite Pascal Siakam’s triple-double (37 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists).
“I like how we’ve stayed in the game,” KD said. “We had a lead of more than 10 points and we let them come back twice. It was a game with ups and downs, but we kept fighting. »
Golden State point guard Stephen Curry (left) blocked by Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (right) during Denver’s win over the Warriors’ court at Chase Center on Saturday. John Hefti/USA Today Sports/AFP
Gobert loses against Jazz
In Washington, it was Bradley Beal (19 points, 8 assists), with a shot 7.4 seconds from the buzzer, who offered the victory (102-100) to the Wizards at the expense of the Bulls of DeMar DeRozan (32 points ).
And what about Ja Morant? The phenomenon of Memphis, untenable with dunks and counters in the stratosphere, changed the course of the match on its own by scoring a whopping 49 points (17/26 shooting including 5/6 from long distance) to allow Memphis to win (129-122) in Houston, which nevertheless counted up to 16 lengths ahead in the first period.
“What a phenomenal game from Ja. He was in attack mode throughout the match, ”said his coach Taylor Jenkins.
For his big reunion with his former franchise in Utah, where he played nine seasons, Rudy Gobert was up to it on the Minnesota floor. Imperial in defense, with his 23 rebounds, 9 points and 2 blocks, the French did not weigh enough to allow the Timberwolves to pocket the victory, beaten after overtime by the Jazz (132-126). No more than Anthony Edwards’ 30 points.
Source: AFP
Beaten on their floor by the Denver Nuggets, the Warriors, defending champions, conceded their first defeat of the season (123-128) while the Celtics confirmed their domination in the East at the Heat (104-111). Betrayed by a porous defense and a too long failing address at three points (34.9% against 44.1%), before the vain awakening of Stephen Curry (34…
